Today is Memorial Day and I always like to post something here for the readers because this particular holiday is much more than sitting back to enjoy some cold ones and enjoy a few BBQ burgers. It’s a day where we should also reflect on those who served in the US Armed Forces and paid the ultimate price for our freedom. For this year’s reflection I simply shared some images of the red, white and blue. Of course this first one was displayed in paint on the front window of a Bay Ridge Brooklyn diner called Hinsch’s.
Today was the annual Bay Ridge Memorial Day Parade, and this 146th edition of the parade has been going on in Bay Ridge for the past 21 years. The motto for this year would be “Lest We Forget” and its important that we never let this be the case to all our brave men and women who fought so hard and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The parade would start on 87th Street and 3rd Avenue (my parents old block actually) and travel up to Marine Avenue heading to Fourth Avenue where it will end at Cannonball Park. It’s actually John Paul Jones Park but everyone calls it that.
The parade began with a little bit of Rolling Thunder. I snagged it on video using the ever trusty Panasonic Lumix. This time around it would be the only video that was captured as I figured I did not need to get the pipe and drum corps this time around like I did on St. Patrick’s Day.
I’ll toss some comments in now and then during the presentation but will mostly be letting you enjoy the parade as it passes by in order to let you feel like you are there watching it along with me. Enjoy.
It’s Memorial Day once again and let’s never forget the true importance and meaning of the day. It’s meant to honor our fallen soldiers and any American who had died while serving in the armed forces. Of course, while we do appreciate our veterans on their own day, I don’t think it hurts to give them a nod of thanks for their service as well. The image below comes from a helmet that I found on sale at a garage sale of all places a number of years ago. It was in decent shape and while not an official combat helmet, it still had the medal on the front and was being sold very cheaply. I was in my teens so finance was always an issue. You’ve been there as well I am sure. Anyway. So that is the only story that I know about the helmet at the seller didn’t really have any information either.
I imagine if the helmet could speak that it would tell me any number of gripping stories about the soldier who wore it, and the life that they saw together along with all the other soldiers and civilians that they came into contact with. If I had to gauge an age for the helmet, I would say that perhaps it belonged to a Vietnam War veteran of some kind. I did buy this long before the US did battle with Iraq and Afghanistan after all. The lack of stories around it didn’t hit me all that much at the young age but now as an adult who often speaks to his readers in this fashion I am kind of bummed out about that. Oh well. One can only hope that this particular soldier lived to a good age unlike so many of his brothers might have. I zoomed closer in on the medal on the helmet and while I polished it just a little bit before taking the photograph, it still looks worn and historic. Its very thin and I didn’t want to damage it.
That’s all I have for you this year. Don’t forget those who we have lost who helped make this country great. By the way, I’m still rather proud of a post I did for last year’s Memorial Day since it truly paid homage to the importance of the holiday and is greatly personal to my family as well. New readers can indulge in that narrative by clicking HERE.
It was just Memorial Day here in the United States and while it’s a great day to have off from work and enjoy some BBQ with your friends and family, it is most importantly a day that comes to us thanks to the selfless sacrifice of our enlisted men and women who were killed in action. We must never forget this. The Piercing Ken inner sanctum is located somewhere within beautiful Bay Ridge Brooklyn and yesterday we had our annual Memorial Day Parade which ran down a section of Third Avenue. It actually was not much more than ten or twelve blocks in length based on all the parade routes being shortened a few years ago by the Mayor. I got there nice and early and shot a whole lot of photos that will hopefully make you feel as if you were standing on the corner with me as it went by. I also decided to limit the actual text and leave this as a primarily visual presentation. Please by all means enjoy what we are putting out there for you and next time we hope you manage to drop by.
It’s Memorial Day once again but as many people are wisely posting on their various social networking profiles, it is a day that is so much more than being about BBQ’s with your friends and family or getting some fast savings on appliances and other tangible crap. It’s a day that is one meant for honor and respectful thanks to those who lost their lives for our country in the service of the United States Armed Forces.
God Bless America
The photo below is of Private First Class Anthony Kosko who served in the U.S. Army back during World War II. He was the youngest of my Grandmother’s six brothers and sisters. All were first generation offspring of Russian Immigrants and were residents of Greenpoint Brooklyn. He was stationed in Anzio, Italy back in April 16th of 1945 and was killed in action by enemy forces. He was nineteen years old at the time according to the family passed down history. The war would end five months later and interestingly enough I learned that he originally lied about his age to be able to enlist.
